Housing Benefit claims

You can apply for Housing Benefit to help you pay your rent in certain circumstances.

• Eligibility for Housing Benefit
• How to make your claim
• Providing supporting information
• How benefit is worked out

Eligibility for Housing Benefit

You can only claim Housing Benefit if you pay rent and if any of the following apply:

• You and your partner have reached pension age
• You live in supported or temporary accommodation
• You have savings below £16,000 (unless you get Guaranteed Pension Credit).

If you are not in any of the above groups, you will have to claim Universal Credit. You can claim Universal Credit online.

If you are not sure and need help, call us on 01590 646121.

How to make your claim

To make your claim for Housing Benefit, complete the online application form below.

Apply for Housing Benefit

We will tell you what information you need to provide and you can include this with your application. 

Providing supporting information

You will need to provide information to support your Housing Benefit claim. We need this as soon as possible so we can process your claim. 

You will need to provide proof of:

• your ID, such as a passport, utility bill or driving licence
• your income (and your partner if you have one), such as payslips or a letter from former employer if you get a pension
• any childcare costs you pay, such as receipts showing the amount you pay, how often and the Ofsted registration number
• your capital, such as bank statements for the last two months or share certificates
• income details of other adults living with you.

You can send these to us by email at benefits@nfdc.gov.uk or upload your information using our online form below.

Upload benefits information

How Housing Benefit is worked out

The amount of Housing Benefit you get depends on your income and circumstances. It is worked out by looking at:

• your household
• any other adults living with you
• your income and savings
• personal circumstances, such as a disability.

We work out your Housing Benefit by comparing your weekly income with your applicable amount. Your applicable amount is the minimum amount the Government says you and your family need to live on each week. We also make deductions to Housing Benefits for adults living with you who are not your partner, which are known as non-dependants.

If you get Universal Credit or the guaranteed credit of Pension Credit, you will get the full amount of Housing Benefit after any deductions for non-dependants have been taken off.

If you rent from a private landlord, the maximum amount of rent we can pay will depend on your Local Housing Allowance.

We also provide information for landlords on Housing Benefit.